June 26, 2017

Swarms of nature

The other day we heard an intense buzzing sound - like a swarm of a thousand bees. And that was it. A swarm. They had chosen one of our big plane trees in front of our house for their new hive. For 30 minutes I thought we were being attacked - a thick cloud of bees above our heads. Lines of bees in geometric stripes up and down the camouflage trunk of the tree, leading to the hole where they were installing their new home. And then it was over and just a few bees were left buzzing around. They are all just inside there. We just stood there watching, amazed.

We read up on 'swarming' - the scout bees who come in advance and find the right location, the quorum of bees who agree on the spot and then the grand move with the queen.

Every day we are thick in nature. I am so happy for that. The girls wade through flowers and watch bees and beetles and lizards and toads. They find cicada skins and Colette describes their molting process (with finesse en français). Coming here, it is what I wanted most for them. It is everywhere, but we've found a spot where nature comes through really strong.